Cynical as that may be, strange as that may sound, the interference by the hands-on owner of the New York Knicks kept Kyle Lowry in Toronto, thus paving the way for this come-from-nowhere, hard-to-figure, somewhat magical first-place season.

There was no real blueprint as to what this year would be with the Raptors, wonderfully as everything has turned out. There was no clear vision from anyone explained anywhere.

CEO Tim Leiweke wanted a lottery pick, which meant tanking away the season. General manager Masai Ujiri wanted some kind of development and the beginning of a foundation to be built, but wouldn’t verbalize exactly what that would be. Dwane Casey was coaching for his life and future employment with an expiring contract, with no intention of throwing games, while trying to figure out on the fly how to win and develop all at the same time.